Weather-strip for boors



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REUBEN WIGIIT,.OF IVESTFIELD, NEW YORK.

WEATHER-STRIP FOR DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,077, dated November 11, 1856.

T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, REUBEN WIGHT, of Vestield, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Weather-Strips for Doors; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters ofI reference marked thereon.

Similar letters refer to like parts in the various figures.

My invention consists in employing a metallic plate as an adjustable weather-strip, it being inserted in the bottom rail of the door, and concealed in front by a face-plate, and operated by a rack and segment lever from the inside.

Figure l, is a vert-ical cross-section of the bottom rail of an ordinary door.

A is the weather-strip, B the face-plate covering the weather-strip on the front or outside of the door. The door is rabbeted about -lor of an inch deep, or a space equal to the thickness of the strip. The strip consists of a brass or iron casting, about two inches in width, of a length corresponding to the width of the door; shown detached in Fig. 2. It may be made from to inch in thickness or heavier if required. This strip has at the center a vertical fillet or projection C, Fig. 3, which iits in a corresponding groove in the face plate and forms a guide in which the strip moves. On the reverse side of the strip, is a vertical cograck D, Fig. 2, with which the toothed segment E, Fig. l gears. This segment moves on the pin F, by the means of the lever handle G, which is a button having an internal screw fitting upon the screw H, of the lever handle. The axis of this segmentlever is a small metallic plate I, attached to the inside of the door, through a slot in which the lever passes. On each side of this slot are two ears, J,J, Fig." 4:, raised about of an inch from the surface of the plate, forming cams. By loosening the button Gr, by a turn with the hand, it allows the lever to be moved sui'iiciently to raise the strip clear of the threshold and allow the door to swing. By this means the button is brought below the highest point, a, of the cam, as shown by the dotted lines, K, when, by tightening the button again, the strip is rendered immovable.

For ordinary use in mild weather the strip is left raised and is therefore concealed from view, but in stormy weather or on closing the door for the night, by raising the lever to the position shown in the drawings, the strip is drawn down tightly against the threshold, and by tightening the screw, secured in that position. Less than a single revolution of the button is sutticient to tighten the screw. The threshold has a beveled rabbet L, and the strip a corresponding bevel by which the door is drawn closely to the when the strip is thrown down. There is a slot, M, through the face plate with a button N inserted by a screw in the strip from the outside of the door, this may be used as a means of raising the strip from the outside when the button on the lever is left loose, or it may be dispensed with and the escutcheon, O, covers the hole. It forms not only a safeguard against rain, snow and cold air driving under the door, but a very eEectual fastening against burglars. Acting as a bolt, its line of bearing extends the whole width of the door, and for bank, store and shop doors one may also be attached at the top rendering the fastening doubly secure, as the ordinary methods ot' disposing of locks and bolts are inoperative against it. But it is especially adapted to the doors of steamboats and other vessels. By placing a strip of india rubber on the threshold the weather strip may be made to iit so tightly as to entirely exclude the most driving sea to which a vessel is exposed.

If desired, the face-plate B may be dispensed with, and the strip made to work in a groove in the rail of the door so as to entirely conceal all parts, except the button and cams, on the inside, which may be made as ornamental as desired.

The model exhibits a door of l,; inch thickness. To adapt it to an inch and a half door the strip is cast with a ledge inch high b, Fig. 2, on which the teeth are cast, and for two inch doors, the lever plate, I, is mortised in, the mortise being covered by a metallic frame P, Fig. 4, surrounding the plate, and the Whole constructed and arranged in the leaving it recessed in, half an inch below the manner and for the purpose herein fully set 10 surface. forth.

What I claim as my inven ion and for 5 which I desire to secure Letters Patent, is- REUBEN WIGHT' The adjustable Weather strip A, operated Witnesses: by the segment-lever E, in connection With Z. C. YOUNG, the movable button G, and the cams J J, H. TINKCOM. 

